The Audubon Name: An Update on Our Survey

Image: Tundra Swan, John James Audubon

Earlier this fall, we conducted a survey to learn how our members and friends feel about the possibility of changing the name of the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia. If you participated, thank you!

We want to provide you with a high-level summary of what we learned from the survey and let you know the next steps in our decision-making process. From the 481 responses to the survey, we learned that our community is almost evenly split on the question of dropping “Audubon” from the name. People younger than 60 showed a significant preference for a name change. However, given how even the overall preferences were, we are now focusing on understanding and addressing the concerns behind the preferences. 

Respondents gave thoughtful comments to explain their views. Whether they oppose or support a name change, many respondents recognize both Audubon’s major contributions to ornithology and the public’s appreciation of birds and nature, as well as the troubling aspects of his legacy, including his ownership of enslaved people and his scientific dishonesty. Those supporting a name change give more weight to the negative aspects of his legacy and see them as a barrier to involving young people and people of color in the organization and in the larger cause of conserving birds and nature. Those opposing a name change give more weight to Audubon’s positive contributions, and see a name change as costly in terms of the time, effort, and money to make the change, and are concerned with the loss of brand recognition and the association of the Audubon name with birds and conservation. 

We thank all of you who took the time to respond to the survey and share your views. We have learned a lot from your passionate and thoughtful responses. We also have been in touch with Audubon chapters across the country, including some that have decided to change their name and others that decided not to change. Their experience has provided considerable insight into the costs and benefits of this choice.

The next step is for the ASNV Board of Directors to meet early in 2024 to decide whether to change the name of the organization. Then, no matter what we decide, we will communicate clearly the outcome and use the understanding we have gained to strengthen our organization’s ability to carry out its conservation and community engagement missions. And if we decide to change our name, we’ll need to come up with a new name. Stay tuned, and we will keep you posted.

President's Corner

Photo: Tundra Swan illustration, John James Audubon

Libby Lyons

Looking back across the last year, I saw ASNV came out of the pandemic energized and ready to take on some big challenges. To counter the threat of continued massive losses of birds from North America (estimated at 3 billion, or one in four, since 1970), of rapid urban development in northern Virginia, and of climate change, we have developed our Stretch Our Parks initiative.

We also are adopting a proactive approach to our mission of engaging all northern Virginia communities in enjoying, conserving, and restoring nature for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. Our recently hired Volunteer Coordinator is increasing our volunteer engagement, we are reaching younger audiences with our NextGen Birders for Conservation events, and we continue to reach out to all communities in our chapter territory through our diversity and inclusion initiatives, which are now featured on our website. 

It is in this context of how we fulfill our mission, today and for years to come, that we now consider whether to change our organization’s name. John James Audubon’s vast contributions to American ornithology are well known. In recent years, however, it has come to light that, like some others of his era, he was a slave owner and collected skulls for another’s eugenics research, practices that are now universally condemned. He also copied another artist’s drawing of a bird that did not exist, using it to promote his own publication -- scientific fraud by any era’s standards.

ASNV, like many other Audubon chapters, has embarked on a process to decide whether to keep the Audubon name. The National Audubon Society in March of this year decided not to change its name, but is allowing its many chapters to decide for themselves. 

Our Board of Directors will make this decision – and it is a complex one. More background information is available in this essay on the Audubon Name, and in this series of Frequently Asked Questions. On the one hand, some feel that changing the name will help remove the taint of racism associated with Audubon. And as Christian Cooper wrote in the Washington Post, we can’t adequately protect birds and other wildlife from the immense challenges ahead without the participation of non-Whites, a large and growing part of the population. Having a name that honors Audubon could deter such participation; this is especially relevant for northern Virginia, a part of the country that has recently become a majority-minority region. 

On the other hand, Audubon did make significant contributions to ornithology, art, and natural history. Changing our name could weaken the Audubon “brand recognition.” A name change could alienate some members and also would be expensive, draining funds away from important conservation work.

Because we are a membership organization and have long benefited from your generous involvement and support, we are now in a listening and learning phase. We ask for your input – please use this link to take our brief survey. We also will consult other groups in northern Virginia communities that are not well-represented in our membership and other Audubon chapters around the country.

We look forward to hearing from you – about the name change issue – and about other suggestions that you have to help us protect the birds and nature that we all treasure.

The Audubon Name

Photo: Common American Swan, Courtesy of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, Montgomery County Audubon Collection, and Zebra Publishing

The National Audubon Society (NAS) was named after John James Audubon in recognition of his contribution to the natural history of North America. Historical reviews of his legacy have in the past several years shown light on more troubling aspects of his life. What NAS has concluded following its own review of that history is that being a slave owner was only one of Audubon’s many transgressions, noting that he was "a complex and troubling character who did despicable things even by the standards of his day."

Out of concern that continuing the Audubon name could undermine the society’s mission, NAS undertook a year-long process to determine whether to remove Audubon from its name. In March 2023 NAS decided not to change its name but indicated that its chapters were free to do so. At its May meeting, ASNV’s board formed an ad hoc committee to develop and implement a process for making a decision about this important issue. We thank you for your patience as we set about this process.

What Do We Do About John James Audubon?

Photo: Great Egret, Adrian Brandon

Drew Lanham writes about the complexities of J.J. Audubon and his history of white supremacy in the spring issue of Audubon Magazine. As we commemorate Black Birder’s Week 2021, this article offers so much for all of us, and especially birders, to think and “grapple with” now . 

“The founding father of American birding soared on the wings of white privilege. The birding community and organizations that bear his name must grapple with this racist legacy to create a more just, inclusive world.”

Great Egret, Adrian Brandon